Kerry Announces Peace Talks to Resume

July 19, 2013

WASHINGTON — Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations will resume, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced.

“The representatives of two proud people today have decided that the difficult road ahead is worth traveling,” Kerry said in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Friday, where he was on his sixth visit to the region since assuming his job in February.

Top negotiators from both sides — Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat — will meet next week in Washington to advance the talks, Bloomberg News reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will have “tough choices” to make as talks proceed, Kerry said.

The terms of the resumption of talks were not made clear. The Palestinians have demanded that negotiations be based on the pre-1967 lines; Israel has resisted such terms.